/lLmo 
&9JL3 


Duke   University  Libraries 

Casting  our  bur 
Conf  Pam  12mo  #923 


i  a  nlw  TJAt  r  I  No.  1A 

CASTING  OCR  BURDEN  OX  THE  LORD, 


BV    REV. 


There  iK  I  I  men  who  o ;-: . ■  i t o   ft 

in  every  loyal  son  of  the  8  >uth  than  bin 
who  \w  ids  V  f 

the  battle  field  and  of  th"  camp,  in  -  •  mr  Iioium, 

our  lib* 
elusion  iui'i 

and  sorrow— in  wounds  ami  in   wertl  : 
c    ' 

I   would  lead  such   direetry  to  ti  I   \v<  uW 

point  them   to  the   Lanib  of  <dk>J  that   taketh   away  the 
gin  ct'ihe  world.      1  ivonld  eotnitiehd  the 
though    He  ;i,  yet  t<5r  oui 

that  we  rty  might  be  made  rich 

though  •'  priory,  >  • 

Borrows — who  hath  borne  on r griefs  and  earn 

■ 
and   -ays  that  lie  will  puStain   us    -that   \{c  will 
suffer  the  righteous  to  be  mo 

If  we  wish  t*»  know  the  worth  Cjf  true 
porieiice  all  its  consoiati  i  |  our- 

selves with  hanvn  tributes  to  tlic  ] 
the  time  that  we  fevl  the  burthen  pn 
fide  in   flim.     We  should  receive  every  affliction 
challenge  to  try  lli>  la  it  h  fulness,  as  an  invitation  n 
IIw  1  ve:  and  the  more  cheerless  our  prospect  on  earth 
believe  that  the  brighter  is  our  inheritance  in  Heaven. 

True  cod  lines?,  rtoca  not  reqnire  hs  to  deny  that  n;c 
are  afflicted  when  God    has   laid    His   heavy   hand   upon 
Us;   nor    dot*    it    require    us    to-  be    insensible    Lo   rain 
When  we  become  ehru-tia-  s,  wj  do  not  cease  to  be  uk-ii 
The  feeling-  of  natural  affection  are  not  quenched  but 
purified  and  regulated  by  faith.     We  arc  therefore,  at 
libertv,  like  D.ivid,   to  number  our  afflictions;  not  that 
we  may  murmur  against  our  .Sovereign  Judge  01 
into  despair,  but  that  wc  may  be  reminded  like  Dt*  ii. 


'1  CASTING  OUR  BURDEN  ON  THE  LORD, 

of  the  only  sure  consolation,  and  directed  like  him  to  the 
only  true  Refuge. 

Among  the  rim  tilings,  for  the  afflicted  to  consider  is, 
the  disposition  of  mind  w  kick  is  connected  w'dh  Divine  relief. 
It  is  not  enough  that  we  hear  a  burden  ;  we  must  cast 
our  burden  upon- the  Lord.  The  temper  befitting  the 
burdened  soul  is  /tumble,  meek,  submissive  and  confiding. 
God  ever  looks  to  the  man  that  is  bumble  and  contrite, 
and  that  trembles  at  His  word.  The  mere  feet  that  we 
arc  miserable  does  not  entitle  us  to  the  promised 
blessing;  nor  will  suffering  alone,  constitute  any  claim 
to  the  provisions  of  God's  goodness.  This  isa  common  error 
into  which  superficial  readers  of  the  promises  are  prone  to 
fall  and  therefore,  it  is  one  against  which  it  is  especially 
important  to  guard.  When  we  read  in  the  liible,  that 
God's  compassions  fail  not — that  He  does  not  willing- 
ly afflict  4the  sons  of  men- — that  He  delighteth  not  in 
the  death  of  the  sinner — we  may  be  insensibly  led  to 
suppose  that  the  circumstance  that  we  are  subjects  of 
compassion — children  of  sorrow  and  withal  wretched 
offenders — of  itself — gives  us  some  sort  of  olaim  to 
His  blessing.  But  such  an  impression,  will  prove 
most  delusive.  The  fact  that  we  are  miserable,  only 
proves  that  we  are  guilty.  It  is  far  from  being  an  evi- 
dence that  hereafter  we  shall  be  happy.  If  misery 
alone  were  the  object,  and  measure  of  the  Divine  bene- 
volence, then  would  the  lost  spirits  in  Hell  be  the 
principal  recipients  of  the  Almighty's  bounty;  for  of  all 
his  creatures,  they  are  the  most  completely  miserable. 
It  is  evident  then,  that  something  more  is  necessary  to 
share  in  God's  promises,  than  simply  to  be  miserable  ; 
that  something  must  be  done  as  well  as  endured;  that 
we  must  not  only  have  a  burden,  but  cast  it  upon 
the  Lord.  There  is  not  a  word  of  comfort  for  thosg  who 
are  conscious  of  misery  and  arc  trying  to  bear  it  in  their 
own  strength — who  are  too  proud  or  too  unbelieving  to 
cast  their  burden  on  the  Lord — who  trust  in  an  arm  of 
flesh  rather  than  in  the  mighty  God  of  Jacob — who 
betake  themselves  to  the  polluting  cup  ot  sensual  plea- 
sure to  assuage  their  sorrows  by  stupefying  their  souls,  or 
turn  to  a  false  philosophy  for  consolation  rather  than  to 


CASTING  0U«  BURDEN  ON  Tin  3 

God  their  Maker,  who  pveth  songs  in  tlm  night.  But, 
tliey  who  put  their  tr  1  for  del;verance  in 

humble  submission  to  Ilia  Sovereign  will,  ami  in  fervent 
gratitude  for  His  gracious  help,  shal  iued. 

For  we  are  /■,< 
delivermjiee  or  to  specif, 

ing  is  tcjbw.  Ail  thai  ia  required  is,  that  we  shall  east 
our  burden  on  tl  irable  man  ia  to  be 

conceived  of  as  bending  under  a  heavy  load,  but  what 
that  burden — from  whom  derived — of  what  composed 
— is  wholly  immaterial.     It  may  be  tl  <■  reoei 
large  estate — tin  pofatrusl  -the  death 

ofa  beloved  child,  whose  expanding  beauties  tilled  your 
heart  with  natural  gladness,  and  whose  opening  virtues 
■warranted  the  hope  of  futile  excellence — a  child  that 
you  had  been  fondly  rearing  np  t<>  be  an  ornament, 
and  a  pillar  in  the  house  of  God — perhaps  such  an  one 
has    been    i  suddenly,  when  your  hopes 

were  highest  and  your  love  warmest,  and  perhaps  the 
paleness  of  the  heart's  ag  ill  npon  your  brow 

und  the  tears  of  parental  Borrow  still  bedew  your  cheek 
— 0!  T  cannot  say  to  such,  weep  no  m  >fe — I  cannot  say 
that  you  have  not  been  bitterly  tried  and  that  you  have 
not  bitter  trials  now  :  but  this  I  Mn  saw  east  thy  burden 
upon  the  Lord  and  He  shall  sustain  thee.  He  will 
suffer  the  righteous  to  be 

It  may  be  that  you  mourn  what  you  imagine  to  be  the 
darkening  prospects  of1  the  community  in  which  your  lot 
lias  fallen,  or  the  more  exl  of  iniquity 

in  the   land,   the   horrible  desecrations  'e   holy 

Sabbaths, the  prevailing  ignorance  of  Divine  truth,  the 
apparent  apathy  of  good  men,  the  in  Irunkness, 

profanenees,  dishonesty  and  debauchery— whatever  be 
the  source  of  your  trouble  or  the  nature  of  your  burden, 
you  are  invited  to  cast  it  on  the  Lord. 

But  perhaps  sorrows  of  a  more  personal  kind  are  yours. 
The  heart  knoweth  his  own  bitterness.  Every  man  shall 
bear  his  own  burden.  Perhaps  you  are  drooping  under 
some  strong  temptation,  and  are  to  some  extent  ac- 
quainted with  the  doceitfulness  and  desperate  wicked- 
ness of  your  own  heart  ;  and  are  afraid  that  you  will  be 


4  I    \-  il.\(,  <>\T,    UTJRDKN  (;>N  THE  1.0150. 

left  to  yourself,  and  fall  into  some  scandalous  sin.  Be 
not  high-minded  Inn  fear,  watch  and  pray  that  ye  enter 
not  into  temptation.     Therefore,   we  ought  to  riya  tlie 

us  ore  earnest  heed  to  the  things  which  we  have  heard 
lest  at  any  time  we  should  let  them  elip.* 

Take  hedd  brethren,  lest  there  be  in  any  of  you 
an  evil  heart  of  unbelief,  in  departing  i'rom  the 
living  God.  But  exhort  one  another  daily,  while 
it  is  called  to-day  lest  any  of  you  be  hardened 
through  the  deeeitfulness  of  sin.  Let  uh  therefore,  fear 
test  a  promise  being  left  us  of  entering  into  His  rest, 
any  of  you  should  seem  to  come  short  of  it.  These  pass- 
ages, in  strict  accordance  with  the  uniform  tenor  of  the 
word  of  God,  show  that  we  must  diligently  use  the 
means  of  grace  if  we  would  escape  the  damnation  of 
Jlell  and  attain  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light.  While 
it  is  the  height  of  presumption,  to  look  for  Salvation 
while  destitute  6f  the  frftits  of  the  Spirit,  yet  we  need 
not  be  alarmed  by  the  slavish  dread  of  eternal  death, 
while  giving^U  diligence  to  make  our  calling  and  election 
sure,  and  putting  our  trust  in  the  living  God  who  giveth 
us  richly  all  things  to  enjoy. 

Accordingly  the  deliverance,  which  we  are  taught  to 
expect  with  most  confidence,  and  to  desire  with  most 
earnestness,  is  not  deliverance  from  any  temporal  evil, 
but  from  the  intolerable  burden  of  sin.  Ask  will)  refer- 
ence to  this  object  and  ye  shall  receive.  Seek  and  ye 
shall  find.  Knock  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you. 
for  every  one  that  asketh  rceeiveth  and  he  that  seckelh 
iindeth  and  to  him  that  knocketh  it  shall  be  opened. 
For  this  gracious  assurance,  we  have  no  less  authority 
than  that  of  Christ  himself.  If  then  our  burden  of  sin 
be  not  taken  off,  it  is  because  we  will  not.  This  is  the 
solution  of  the  mystery  whi  h  the  Master  Irmself  gives : 
Ye  wid  net  come  unto  me  that  ye  might  have  life.  This 
is  the  condemnation  that  light  is  come  into  the  world, 
and  men  loved  darkness  rather  than  light  because  their 
deeds  were  evil.  Our  sin,  which  ought  to  drive  us  k> 
<  'hrist,  is  the  very  thing  that  keeps  us  from  him.     Tims 

"Hebrews?:  1:  Heb.  S;  12:  13  a:.d  4:  1. 


[NO   "IP.   BURDKN   ON    III  I     l  I) 

He  U'Mtiiies  ot'  Himself:  I  camo  i j « > t  ka  caN  the  righteous, 
but  sinners  to  repentance.     The  whole  u  Physi- 

cian bu^.they  thai  ate  siek*  X  >  one  who 
through  this  bitter  struggle,  will  be  disposed  to  glory 
over  another  who  may  beeven  now  involved  hi  it.  The 
strong  man  armed,  will  not  leave  bis  house  without  a 
furious  contest.  Satan  will  not  surrender  the  victim  of 
his  wiles  and  (he  partner  of  hi.-?  \vuo.<,  without  a  desperate 
effort  to  retain  him;  and  hitter  is  the  |*ag  and  kottible 
the  agony  endured  by   the   >»♦  nitent   when    lie  exclaims, 

''Oh!  that  my-  load  ofein  were  gone. 

Oh  !  that  I  could  at  last  submit, 

At  Jems  feet  to  lay  me  down  ; 

To  lay  my  soul  at  Jesua  feet." 
But  tfiere  iv,  in  ike  Gospel,  tneoHtrngtment  for  tkone  rqost 
deeply  dejected  a nd  a  hope /all,  qf  immortality  for  th 
d  upondent.     Lei  us  therefore  consider  tkb  certainty  of  . 
relief.     We  by  no  means  affirm  that  the  burden  what- 
ever it  may  be,  shall  he  taken  away,  hut  that  the  soul. shall 
be  strengthened  to  bear  it.     The  needful  succour  shall 
he  administered  and  it  .-hall   be  adapted  to  the   harden. 
If  the  thing  complained  of  be  sin.  it  has  been  aVoi 
and  it  shall  he  remitted-     Fof  him  bath    God  exalted  to 
be  a  Prince  and  a  Savior,  to  giire  repentance  unto  I 
and  remission  of  sins,  and  the  blood  of  .lesus  Christ,  His 
Son,  cleanseth  us   from  all  sin.     But  what  if  the  harden 
he  necessary  either  for  our  good  or  lor  J I  is  glory  ?     What 
it  it  he  sent  to  humble  us — to  bend  our  proud   necks  to 
his  yoke?     What  if'it  he  an   indispensable  pari  oi 
spiritual  discipline?     What  if  it   be   needed   to  make  u.s 
meet  for  the  inheritance  of  the  Saints  in  light?     What 
though  lie  removi  it  not,  ye4  shall  He  give  u-  grace  to 
bear  it.     Affliction  is   not  always   an   evidence   of  tho 
ldvine  displeasure,  for  whom  the  Lord  I  o  vet  a  He  chus- 
teneth  and  Boourgetli  every  son  whom  lie  received).      If 
ye  then  be  without  chastisement   whereof   all  are  par- 
takers, then  are  ye  bayards  and   not    J0/1&     Thero  was 
once  a  servant  of  God  who  had  keen  distinguished  by 
extraordinary  marks  of  favor,  and  by  revelations  ot  pe- 
culiar  glory.      He    had    been    caught    up    to    tho    third 
Heavens  whether  in  the  body  he  knew  not,  and  whether 


0  CASTING  OUB  lUHDKx  ON  THE   LORD. 

out  of  the  "body  he  knew  not,  but  (here  lie  was  admitted 
•to  visions  of  (Jod,  and  he  beheld  things  that  ought  not 
to  be  spoken  or  that  human  tongue  was  incompetent  to 
express.  Am]  yet  after  nil  this,  (i<>d  scat  a  messenger  of 
Satan  to  bullet  htm.  What  is  the  explanation  of  this 
seeming  mystery?  Why  did  the  favored  Apostle  find 
this  apparent  inconsi-  teney  in  the  Divine  dealing?-  to- 
ward him?  We  have  the  answer  in  his  own  words. 
'•Lest  J  should  be  exalted  above  measure  by  the 
abundance  of  the  revelations."  These  opposite  ex- 
periences of  the  same  man  at  different  times,  were  not 
merely  consistent  but  related  and  dependent,  It  was 
because  he  had  been  so  exalted  that  he  must  he  depress- 
ed; because  lie  had  been  so  highly  favored  that  he  must 
be  so  deeply  afflicted.  And  when  he  besought  the  Lord 
thrice  that  it  might  depart  from  him,  did  it  depart?  Was 
the  burden  removed — the  thorn  extracted — Satan's 
messenger  dismissed?  No!  the  appropriate  answer  is 
my  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee,  for  my  strength  is  made 
perfect  m  weakness.* 

The  instance  which  we  have  just  contemplated,  of  a 
servant  of  God,  in  some  respects  highly  exalted,  in  others 
unusually  afflicted,  is  by  no  means  an  exception  or  de- 
parture from  the  common  course  of  His  providential 
dispensations.  Doubtless  when  afflicted,  not  less  than 
when  exalted,  the  Apostle  accomplished  the  will  of  his 
Divine  Master. 

Wit  May  therefore  gather  from  his  experience  tend  ex- 
ample that  it  is  possible  to  glorify  <}o;l  in  suffering.  This  is 
perhaps  the  most  difficult  service  \fhich  man  can  render 
to  God,  and  it  is  one  which  our  mortal  condition  often 
mak<-s  it  our  duty  to  yield.  It  is  comparatively  easy  to 
perform  many  actiee.  duties,  because  they  are  such  as  re- 
putatfon,  iiviertst  and  natural  affection  dictate.  Nothing  is 
plainer  than  that  we  are  bound  to  provide  for  the  support 
and  comfort  of  those  dependent  upon  us  ;  for  the  man 
that  tails  to  do  this  is  said  to  have  dented  the  faith  and 
to  be  worse  than  an  intidcl.  We  are  likewise  required 
to  honor  our  father  and  mother,  and  he    who  can  treat 

*2d  Cor.,  12:  7:  10. 


CASTING  OUR  BURDEN  ON  THE  LORD.  i 

with  ingratitude  those  from  whom  he  has  derived  his 
earthly  being,  is  justly  regarded  as  a  monster  and  a 
miscreant.  The  Christian  religion  also  renders  the  obli- 
gation of  speaking  the  truth  to  our  neighbor  and  of  the 
strictest  honest}  in  our  pecuniary  transactions  impera- 
tive and  universal.  But  we  find  men  scrupulous  in  the 
performance  of  these  duties,  from  no  higher  or  better 
principles  than  the  world  acknowledges,  and  although 
they  are  necessary  to  the  character  ot  a  christian,  they 
do  not  alone  constitute  it,  though  no  one  who  in1. 
them  can  be  a  christian,  yet  all  who  observe  them  are 
not  christians.  These  ought  ye  to  have  done  and  not 
left  the  others  undone.  Give  unto  Caeaar  the  things 
which  are  '  >d   the   things   which   are 

God's,     But  it  is  the  peculiar  privil  people  of 

God  to  bear  "What   He  sends  upon  them    with  reli 
resignation — to  suffer  joyfully  the  spoiling  of  then 
tor   His  name's  sake  ;  and  nothing^bwt    : 
enable  them  to  do  it.     When  tin3  people  of  <i<'d  are  cut 
off  from  active  service — when  by  some  painful  dispensa- 
tion affecting  their  heaHk,  tfceii  or  their  families  t 
they  are  so  disabled  as  no  longer  to  be  capable  of  pei 
forming  those  duties  which  habit  had  rendered  familiar 
and  the  blessing  of  God  delightful,   they  are  too  apt  lo 
conclude  that   they  can    be   useful   no   more.     But   they 
may  as  truly  glorify  God  when  stretched  upon  a  bed  of 
sickness  as  when  employed  in  active  duty;   and   there  is 
perhaps  no  more  pleasing  spectacle  which  God  beholds 
on  earth  than  that  of  a  good  man   patiently  resigned  to 
His  will  when  it    appoints   the  loss    of  all    things  and 
humbly   trusting  in   }£ is  mercy,  when  all  His  wa?< 
His  billows  are  going  over  him.     They  that   trust  in  the 
bord  shad  be  as  Mount  Ziori,  which  cannot  be  removed, 
but  abideth  forever.     As  the  mountains  are  round  about 
Jerusalem,  so  the  Lord  la  round  about  His  peop  e  from 
hencetorth  even  forever.* 

*P*.  12fr:  land  2. 


THE    REFUGE, 


JEsre,  lover  of  my  eon], 

Let  me  to  thy  besom  fly, 
AVhi'e  the  billows  near  ine  roll, 

AVhile  the  tempest  still  is  high: 
Hide  me,  0  my  Saviour,  hide, 

Till  the  storm  of  life  is  past: 
Safe  into  the  haven  guide, 

( 'h  receive  my  soul  at  last. 

Other  refuge  have  I  none, 

Jiangs  my  helpless  soul  on  thee  ; 
Leave,  O  leave  me  not  alone, 

Still  support  and  comfort  me: 
All  my  trust  on  thee  is  stayed, 

All  my  help  from  thee  I  bring; 
Cover  my  defenceless  head 

With  the  shadow  of  thy  wing. 

Thou,  O  Christ,  art  all  I  want, 

Boundless  hive  in  thee  I  find; 
Raise  the  fallen,  cheer  the  faint. 

Heal  the  sick,  and  lead  the  blind. 
Just  and  holy  is  thy  name, 

J  am  all  unrighteous:  ess  ; 
Vile  and  full  of  sip  I  am, 

Thou  art  fuT  of  truth  and  grace. 

Plenteous  grace  with  thee  is  found, 

Grace  to  pardon  all  my  sin  ; 
Let  the  healing  streams  abound, 

Make  and  keep  me  pure  within: 
Thou  of  lile  the  fountain  art, 

Freely  let  me  take  ofth.ee  ; 
Spring  thou  up  within  my  heart, 

Ki.se  to  all  eternity.  Rp»j? 

£cow 

ail 

*423 


Hollinger  Corp. 
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